INDIANAPOLIS (April 7, 2015) – Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) announced today that development driver Sage Karam will join the team’s Verizon IndyCar Series lineup in the No. 8 Chevrolet for the second race of the series at the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park this weekend. Karam’s No. 8 Chevrolet will bear the COMFORT REVOLUTION/Big Machine Records livery to start his second Verizon IndyCar Series event for the team.

NOTES OF INTEREST

Some Old Friends: COMFORT REVOLUTION and Big Machine Records will continue to back Karam after his Verizon IndyCar Series debut at the Indianapolis 500 in 2014, where he was the highest-finishing CGRT driver with a ninth-place finish. Both partners have also supported Karam’s drives in the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Wonder Boy: Karam signed a multi-year deal last season as a CGRT development driver which began with the 2014 Indianapolis 500. The former Indy Lights Champion became the youngest Indy Lights Champion in history at 18 years old in 2013. Karam is also the first driver to compete in all levels of the Mazda Road to Indy program, where he also became the only driver to win races at each level. Prior to that he was the youngest winner of the Skip Barber scholarship, where he also became the youngest (13) winner ever in the Skip Barber shootout. Earlier this year, Karam was also teammates on the No. 01 Ford Eco-boost/Target Riley for the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Scott Pruett, Joey Hand and Charlie Kimball.

St. Petersburg Recap: Karam finished 19th at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in his first-ever street course race appearance. He drove an incident-free race, completed every lap and brought the No. 8 Chevrolet back in one piece per the team’s goal. With the result, Karam holds the 19th position in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standing with 11 markers, 40 points behind points leader Juan Pablo Montoya.

He Really Is Just a Kid: With his first start in St. Petersburg, Karam became the youngest driver in CGRT history to start an IndyCar race for the team at 20 years old. Team Target driver Scott Dixon previously held the mark at 22 years old when he debuted for CGRT at the Milwaukee Mile in 2002.

CGRT QUOTEBOARD

Sage Karam, Driver: “I’m honored to be back in the No. 8 car this weekend at NOLA. I’m looking forward to applying what I learned in St. Petersburg to this weekend. We’ve run a few tests here so I’m definitely more comfortable in the car than I was in St. Petersburg. I’ll be looking to my Ganassi teammates to help me with my learning curve so we can make sure the COMFORT REVOLUTION/Big Machine Records car has a good run in this inaugural race.”